Date: Fri, Apr 9, 2010

The Sarah Palin Keynote Address at the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers of America Convention in Las Vegas earlier this week was highly anticipated. Many in the wine and spirits industry wanted to hear what the former Alaskan Governor and Republican...

Date: Fri, Apr 9, 2010

An Open Letter To the Wine Trade If you think American alcohol distributors and wholesalers are your friends then you are begging for disappointment. All you have to do to understand the nefarious intent of wine and spirit distributors is...

Date: Fri, Apr 9, 2010

If it's not the most successful or the most expensive consumer promotion by an American winery, it must be the best administered national promotion by a winery. Sutter Home's "Build A Better Burger" promotion is really a sight to behold....

Date: Thu, Apr 8, 2010

There are roughly five spaces still available for the 2010 North American Wine Bloggers Conference from the 300 that were originally available. What does this mean? It means a number of things, not the least of which is that this...

Date: Thu, Apr 8, 2010

There are few "wine personalities" that have earned national fame here in America. You can probably count them on the fingers of one hand. Karen MacNeil would lay claim to one of those digits. It takes quite a few paragraphs...

Date: Wed, Apr 7, 2010

In Bill Daley's Chicago Tribune article today ("Clueless About Wine?") he is kind enough to include comments I made in this blog on the topic of how wine-knowledgeable folks ought to treat those who don't have much knowledge about wine...

Date: Tue, Apr 6, 2010

Based on reports from Las Vegas this morning, (and here) Sarah Palin gave a keynote address to the attendees of the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers Association's (WSWA) Annual Convention. And as suspected, she had nothing to say about the issue...

Date: Mon, Apr 5, 2010

Is it possible for a wine critic to engage the true art of criticism? I wonder about this because lately I've been exploring the state of criticism within various disciplines. It seems across the board, whether talking about film, dance,...

Date: Sun, Apr 4, 2010

If you are interested in good wine writing and wine information... If you appreciate good wine blogs... If you want to offer encouragement to the best wine blogs... ...Then you best get over to www.wineblogwards.com and nominate your favorite blogs...

Date: Wed, Mar 31, 2010

It's practically an annual affair: W.R. Tish's annual April Fools Parody of all things wine. If Randall Grahm is the Court Jester of the American wine world, then W.R. Tish is its Jon Stewart. This year, Tish presents: "The Daily...

Date: Tue, Mar 30, 2010

It's remarkable!! An initiative that is currently gathering signatures for California's November ballot would, if approved by the voters, increase the tax on a bottle of wine by 12,675% TWELVE THOUSAND SIX-HUNDRED SEVENTY FIVE PERCENT!!! How could this possibly be...

Date: Mon, Mar 29, 2010

I've lived in Sonoma Valley since 1996. I'm convinced that if God somehow found himself earthbound, this is where he'd set up home. Still, after 15 years of living in God's Country, I'm leaving. I've always known that the things...

Date: Mon, Mar 29, 2010

There are treats to be had by working in the wine industry and I'm not talking the food and wine that does indeed flow so copiously. Rather, I'm talking about the opportunities I'm fortunate enough to have to share ideas...

Date: Fri, Mar 26, 2010

The Zig Zag Cafe is located behind and below the famed Pikes Market in Seattle. It's a pretty hard place to find for someone unfamiliar with the layout of this area of town. Not deterred by a crooked line of...